A B.C. mom and her family are extremely grateful to the doctors and nurses at BC Children鈥檚 Hospital who helped her young daughter to overcome severe complications from her premature birth.

Laesa Kim told Black Press Media on Friday (Aug. 21) that her four-year-old girl, Evelyn, was born at the hospital two months prematurely, weighing less than 3.5 pounds. On top of being underweight, doctors found that baby Evelyn had a congenital heart defect and a condition called Pierre Robin Sequence, which causes anomalies in babies鈥� facial features.

Laesa and her husband, James, came to rely on Children鈥檚 staff right away, splitting their time between the hospital and their home in Surrey while Eveyln recovered from jaw surgery doctors hoped would allow her to breathe on her own. But Eveyln鈥檚 tiny jaw was set so far back in her throat that she had to undergo a tracheotomy that left her with a breathing tube below her vocal chords.

Eveyln had open-heart surgery at the hospital shortly before her first birthday.

She鈥檚 now a happy and healthy pre-schooler who watches Peppa Pig and loves the swings at her neighbourhood park, where Laesa said she plays with her seven-year-old brother, Noah. Evelyn can鈥檛 speak over her breathing tube, so she and her mom have learned to communicate using sign language.

Through it all, Laesa said she and James have drawn on a strong sense of community among Children鈥檚 staff, a bond that grew deeper after a hospital upgrade allowed for parents to stay overnight. She recalled walking into Eveyln鈥檚 hospital room on a Saturday morning to find their daughter and her nurses having 鈥渁 dance party鈥� set to R&B playing from a stereo plugged into the wall.

Eveyln has been looked after by her pediatrician outside Children鈥檚 since the COVID pandemic took hold in March, but the Kims expect that she鈥檒l be able to resume treatment at the hospital in the fall.

The BC Children鈥檚 Hospital Dream Lottery is an annual fundraising lottery with proceeds going to fund the hospital. There are eight grand prizes up for grabs, each of which is worth over $2 million.

Tickets are sold out, but the winners will be announced on Nov. 10 on the .

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laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca
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